


Golden Haired Guardian Angel

by Kyuubiluver342



Series: The Many Times Seto Kaiba Was In Debt To Joey Wheeler [9]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Car Accidents, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 15:45:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17062505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyuubiluver342/pseuds/Kyuubiluver342
Summary: Sometimes, the news just gets it plain old wrong. And then there was the time people thought Seto and Joey were dating.





	Golden Haired Guardian Angel

Golden Haired Guardian Angel

Mokuba Kaiba nearly died the day the announcement was made. Whether from shock or from the hot chocolate he choked on, he wasn’t sure, but he was like 98% certain that this was Karma coming to fuck with their lives again and in probably the most interesting way it could have. It was late, rainy afternoon, Seto and he were in their living room, on the couch, just sitting and getting some work done. The TV played in the background, but the volume was on low. They had originally been watching some old western (Seto would die before he ever admitted he liked them), but it had switched over to some trashy entertainment show afterwards and they just hadn’t felt like turning it off.

Mokuba reached for his hot chocolate, mostly lukewarm by now. As he took a sip, he glanced up and promptly spat his hot chocolate all over Seto sitting next to him. Seto let out a cry and jumped to his feet, his laptop dropping to the floor.

“MOKUBA!” Seto roared as Mokuba drove for the remote, turning the volume on high.

“That’s right, folks! You heard it here first! Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler are dating!” a overly perky blond with a huge chest said with a picture of, none other than, Seto and Joey sitting at a cafe in the background.

“WHAT!” Seto and Mokuba both exclaimed.

Gone was the anger about the sudden hot chocolate, now all Seto could do was stare as pictures of himself and Joey popped up on screen. He immediately recognized several of them, including them at the cafe, as paybacks for the various debts Seto owed Joey over the last few months. Hell, Mokuba had actually been with them in most of these pictures, but he was either cropped out or just not in the shot. 

God, none of the pictures even showed them doing anything that romantic! Seto is either on his phone or mocking Joey in many pictures, while Joey was either yelling back at him or not even looking his way. One even showed, Joey yelling and shaking his fist at Seto’s back as he walked away, ice cream in hand, Mokuba by his side.

To the brothers, none of these pictures showed anything romantic whatsoever, but the host didn’t seem to agree. She cooed and awed over every picture, talking about the clear passion between the two.

“And here, we have the young lovers sharing an intimate moment! Can’t you just see the love in their eyes?” she said with a bounce.

The photo did seem to hold tension, but not the lovey dovey kind. Joey was clearly pissed to holy hell, face flushed and mouth open. Seto was staring right back, ears red and daggers in his eyes. The only real connection between them was their hands, both grabbing for the door at the same time. Seto even remembered that day! Joey and he had been at each other’s throats for hours and it just so happened that they grabbed the door at the same time. 

“Oh, isn’t it romantic? No wonder Mr. Kaiba has been so intent on keeping Mr. Wheeler by his side! It’s like a Cinderella story come true!” the host cooed.

Mokuba snorted into his hand and tried to stop his laughter. He was clearly failing to do so and that almost sent Seto into a tizzy. Instead, he grabbed his phone and stormed off, already dialing several different numbers. He was going to get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing he did. 

Mokuba, on the other hand, continued to watch and take notes of the show and several others, all focusing on the ‘hot new couple’ of the week. Some time later, Mokuba watched Seto storm out the door and peel off, having never made a single phone call. A part of him hoped his brother would use this opportunity to express his own feelings for the other duelist. Another part of him wondered how far away he should get from the fireworks.

Seto pulled up in front of Joey’s work, the coffee shop, and jumped out. He needed to get this fixed and he needed to do this now. He stormed up to the front of the line and glared at Joey, who blinked at him, but finished the order he was doing. 

“I need to speak with you. Now.” Seto demanded.

“I can’t just walk away from the register, Money-bags. I’ll lose my job.” Joey stated taking the next order.

“I don’t give a damn about your job. I’ll buy the damn company and hire you back. Now I need to talk to you.” Seto hissed.

Joey rolled his eyes, but quickly asked his boss and they stepped into the back office. Joey crossed his arms and looked at Seto.

“So what is the big problem now?” Joey demanded.

“Have you seen the news?” Seto asked.

Joey sighed loudly and rubbed his eyes. Seto felt a twinge of guilt as he looked over Joey’s exhausted face.

“Kaiba, I have been at work since 5 this morning. I haven’t even looked at my phone today.” Joey stated.

Seto pulled out his phone and showed him the first page. Joey stared at it for the longest time before ripping the phone from his hand.

“What the fuck is this?” Joey hissed, pointing to the front page.

“That’s what I am trying to figure out, stupid!” Seto snarled. 

There was a knock at the door then and a coworker of Joey’s popped her head in. She looked nervous.

“Um Joey, there are some people here to see you?” she asked and Joey frowned.

“Who?” he asked.

“Like half of the world apparently.” she said.

Joey stared before walking over and opening the door. Just outside the shop was a flood of people, all holding cameras or cellphones. They started yelling as soon as Joey peeked his head out and he quickly slammed the door shut.

“Oh god.” Joey muttered before looking at Seto, wide eyed.

“What the hell do we do now?” Joey hissed.

Seto paused and frowned. There wasn’t really a way out without being seen. It was clear the vultures weren’t going to go away.

“Just stay here.” he demanded.

Head held high, he walked out of the back while Joey staying behind. Peeking out, he watched as the reporters crowded around him, but he kept moving, got into his car and drove off. Joey watched and waited until they all left before going back to his job. He could only pray Kaiba would get this figured out.

As Seto drove away, he pulled out his phone and started a conference call. When everyone dialed in, he spoke.

“I want to know who allowed this nonsense to hit the front pages. I want names. Now!” Seto barked.

“Mr. Kaiba, we thought we were helping.” his marketing director said.

“You have one second to explain how this helps my company in any way if you want to keep your job.” Seto snarled.

“We thought this might help soften you image a little bit.” his PR director spoke quickly.

“Is that so? And why was I not warned beforehand?” Seto demanded, taking a sharp turn.

“Mr. Kaiba, we did send out an email.” another spoke.

“An email? An email! This deserved a phone call at the least!” Seto snapped.

Another sharp turn. His rage was blinding him to the danger before him. Everything he had worked so hard for could be completely ruined by their carelessness. By his carelessness! God, why had he allowed this foolishness to go on? Another sharp turn, his wheels drifted a bit. His team was still trying to convince him it was a good idea, that they could use this to their advantage somehow, but all he could see was years of hard work going down the drain and possibly years of status quo with Joey being ruined as well. Another sharp turn and...his wheels started to slide, but he had no control and was going too fast.

He cursed loudly, trying to regain control. He could hear his team yelling, asking what was going on, but all he saw was the pole. The twisting of metal and shattering of glass filled his ears, his head slammed against the steering wheel and the world went quiet and dark.

Some time later, he vaguely heard voices. He couldn’t make out the words, couldn’t make out what was going on. It sounded kind of like static from an old radio. He opened his eyes and a flash of gold caught his attention. Bright gold, sorrowful brown and a flash of blue. An angel? He slipped away again before he could really register it.

He woke again when his leg started to throb. He whimpered softly, but someone shushed him. He heard the name ‘Money-bags’ and opened his eyes to see Joey’s face in front of his. His arms under Seto’s armpits and hands locked around his chest, tugging him free of the wreck. His leg was stuck in the seatbelt, but Joey yanked him free and dragged him away. Seto slipped away again, idly thinking he was safer with this man than anyone else.

When he awoke again, he was moving. The motion of the vehicle made his head spin and he wanted to run away. A hand on his arm made him pause and a gentle voice lulled him back to sleep.

Next time he woke, it smelt awful, like death mixed with disinfectant. He groaned and wished he could just cover his head and hide, but Kaibas never hid from anything, so it was time to suck it up and figure out what happened.

“Seto?” a timid voice called.

He opened his eyes to see Mokuba sitting next to him. His eyes were teary and he was holding Seto’s hand. He squeezed lightly and Mokuba let out a sob.

“Mokuba?” he called and Mokuba’s eyes turned to daggers.

“If you weren’t injured, I would hit you! What were you thinking! Were you trying to kill yourself?” Mokuba demanded and Seto swallowed.

His head hurt, but he did remember anger, yelling and then panic. He swallowed, but his mouth was dry. Mokuba helped him get some water and then they were quiet.

“You were lucky, you know. The pole hit the passenger’s side, not your’s. You have a very mild concussion and a few bruises, but nothing serious.” Mokuba looked away.

“You could have died, Seto. You split the pole in half with how fast and hard you hit it.” Mokuba choked.

“You were lucky, so fucking lucky.” Mokuba whispered, pressing his forehead to Seto’s hand.

If he could move, he would have hugged the other, but his other arm had the IV in it. He knew from experience those hurt like hell to rip out.

“I didn’t mean to.” Seto muttered and Mokuba nodded, wiping his eye.

Seto lay there for a moment before frowning. A blurry memory came to the forefront of his mind.

“Mokuba, I remember Wheeler being there?” Seto questioned.

“Joey found you. He was the first one on the scene. Apparently he was walking by when you slid into the pole. He pulled you from the wreck. He’s in the other room, getting his arms checked out.” Mokuba explained.

“His arms?” Seto muttered.

“Apparently the door wouldn’t open, so he busted the window with his elbow, then yanked you out through that. He got pretty badly cut up.” Mokuba sat back in his chair, but never released Seto’s hand.

“He was at work?” Seto asked.

“Apparently, his boss fired him. He was walking home.” Mokuba replied.

Seto made a mental note to buy the coffee shop and fire the manager there before he closed his eyes. His breathing evened out and Mokuba sighed.

“Do you want to come in?” he called.

The door opened and Joey walked in, looking sheepish. His arms were bandaged up and Mokuba felt a twinge of sorrow. He had heard the doctor say some of them had been pretty bad, they might even scar. Joey sat down in the chair next to Mokuba and stared at Seto.

“He’ll be alright, you know. Money-bags is strong.” Joey said and Mokuba nodded.

“I was so scared. I saw it on the news before anyone told me.” Mokuba replied.

He had been watching the same trashy show when the breaking news report had flashed on the screen. To see his brother’s car wrapped around a pole had sent a chill through him. He had only calmed down when Joey called and said Seto was in an ambulance. Of course, Mokuba had argued with Joey to get in the ambulance too, that Seto would want someone with him as he rode to the hospital. Joey had only agreed after Mokuba had threatened to cry.

“I’m sorry. I wish I had called you sooner.” Joey said.

Mokuba slapped his arm and then quickly apologized when Joey winced.

“You were busy saving Seto’s life. I think that counts as a valid excuse.” Mokuba replied and Joey shrugged.

“Didn’t see him getting out on his own. I just did what I could.” Joey stated.

Mokuba eyed Joey and then Seto. He wondered if Seto understand that he had a golden haired guardian angel watching over him. He doubted that, but he hoped his brother figured it out soon. They sat in silence, just watching Seto sleep when Mokuba’s phone went off. He looked at it and groaned.

“I have to take this, can you watch over him?” Mokuba asked and Joey nodded.

As soon as Mokuba left the room, Joey glanced at Seto and frowned. He nervously pulled at the bandage on his hand before sighing.

“You had me really scared there, Money-bags. When I saw your car wrapped around that pole, I thought for sure you were dead. You looked dead with all the blood.” Joey paused before running a hand through his hair.

“I didn't know what else to do. I had to get you out. I could see the hood starting to smoke. But your door wouldn’t open. You’ll probably be pissed I tore your coat and pants and shit, but I got you out, so that must mean something right?” Joey paused, as if Seto was going to reply.

Joey looked away, feeling silly for talking to someone who clearly couldn’t talk back. He bit his lip and then spoke again.

“I don’t want any payback for saving your life. I know you will think you have to repay me, but it seems like repaying me has just caused more problems for everyone. So forget about it ok? You don’t owe me anything. Just get better. For Mokuba.” he said with a cough and a blush.

Mokuba came back then and Joey got up to leave. He paused at the door, looked one last time at the two brothers and then left.

The next day, Kaiba Corps PR people set the record straight and let the world know that no Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler were not dating. Despite the fact that the video of Joey’s heroic rescue made national news, they were not in a relationship. Joey didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad about that one.


End file.
